Liverpool venues to offset carbon emissions

Organisers hosting conferencing events in a major UK city will be able to offset the impact of the carbon they will produce by donating to a range of local green projects.

The Liverpool Convention Bureau (LCB), in collaboration with Foundation, a climate change fund for the north west, have given coordinators using Liverpool venues the chance to contribute to carbon reduction programmes across the city.

Foundation chief officer Mark Turner explained that the system worked by companies being asked to contribute £100 for meetings with up to 100 guests, rising to £1,000 for large meetings of up to 800 delegates, if they wanted to compensate for their carbon.

"Carbon emissions are unavoidable when it comes to organising and hosting large events ... we hope that this new scheme will give people the chance to compensate for the environmental impact," he added.

The University of Sussex has recently unveiled a new event venue designed to achieve a low carbon footprint. The Fulton Building has a natural ventilation system and a grass courtyard replaces the car park.